politics for the 99%

Published on Countercurrents.org, by Mirza Yawar Baig, Nov 15, 2016.

Dire Straits’ famous song has some very politically incorrect lyrics but the refrain, ‘Money for nothing and the chicks for free’ sums up the situation of black marketeers and owners before the demonetization and the name of the songsters – Dire Straits – sums up their situation in India today. But what are the implications of demonetization? We have seen many theories; conspiracy and otherwise. One of the best articles that I have read is by former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary, Arvind Mayaram, which is here:  

(Economy takes a hit if faith in the paper we called currency is shaken: Arvind Mayaram, on The Asian Age, by Pawan Bali, Nov 13, 2016)
http://www.asianage.com/opinion/interview-of-the-week/131116/economy-takes-a-hit-if-faith-in-the-paper-we-called-currency-is-shaken-arvind-mayaram.html

Let’s see what the real, on-the-street effects of demonetization are and what their implications can be.

Effects:

We are a cash economy and that is not because we have a huge number of people with black money but because we have a huge number of poor people who don’t have bank accounts and don’t deal with anything other than cash. For anyone who has lived or travelled in rural India this needs no explaining. So, I will not waste your time trying to describe what we have seen and experienced all our lives in our country without any problem or complaint. Those who need convincing can try to buy vegetables, fish, eggs, meat or chicken and pay for them with a credit card or cheque. Both buyers and sellers are not evil hoarders and black marketeers but ordinary, garden variety men and women trying to live their lives. This money that is earned by the sellers in never enough to be deposited in a bank. It is used to buy food and necessities for their families, goods to sell the next day and a little bit to set aside for a rainy day. This may accumulate over the years to some thousands. Do these people have documentary evidence about where they got this money from? Can they show that they paid tax on it? Can they show accounts of what they earn daily? Does the vegetable seller, the meat, fish or egg seller have a P&L account and a Balance Sheet? Does she have a PAN card? Does that therefore make them criminals? … //

… It is easy for the powers that be to talk about accepting the inconvenience because they don’t have to face it themselves and can easily turn a blind eye to the fact that a daily wage earner standing in a queue at a bank to exchange his life savings for the snazzy new currency is also losing his wage for that day. For many that is a very significant loss. For some it may mean that when they return the next day to their job, they find that the job has gone because someone else has been employed in their place. I won’t list the kinds of suffering that housewives, the old and sick and so on are undergoing standing for hours in serpentine queues. Those who are interested can go and talk to people standing in those queues. Or even better, go and stand in such a queue yourself to see how it feels to stand for six hours without food or water or shade or anywhere to rest your tired legs. People are doing more than that.

It is clear that the move to demonetize currency was taken without sufficient thought about all its intended and unintended consequences and without adequate preparation for its seamless and painless implementation.If that had been done, there would have been no reason for the tearful histrionics and theatrics that we are witnessing which are probably good for TRP ratings but not for anything else.

Whatever the effects of demonetization may prove to be on black money, what is clear is that faith in paper currency has taken a very big hit. I am not sure if this loss of faith can ever be restored. The thought that is uppermost in the minds of people is that if the government can do this once, it can do it again. And if one government can do it, then so can another government. Try to think of what conclusion the average man and woman standing in long queues to exchange old notes for new; who may even lose a part of his savings in this process, will come to.

Sadly, our media won’t show us the truth as it is not viable for them. But ignoring the truth won’t change it. Reality, unrecognized has a nasty way of biting very hard when you are not looking. That is perhaps something that those who demonetized currency didn’t think of. That is also something that may show its effect in the elections; the only place where politicians and political parties are held to account. Jai Hind.

(full text).

(Mirza Yawar Baig is based in Hyderabad, India and is the founder and President of Yawar Baig & Associates; an international leadership consulting organization. He can be reached here).

Links:

Putin & Trump discuss Syria and US-Russia relations in phone call – Kremlin, on RT, Nov 14, 2016;

Assange ‘finally afforded opportunity’ to give statement to Sweden, complains of irregularities, on RT, Nov 14, 2016;

Egypt: Enough protection for the poor? on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Nesma Nowar, Nov 10, 2016: Government efforts to shield the poor against price hikes following the floatation of the pound and petroleum price increases are likely to be inadequate. As Egypt entered its first week after the floatation of the pound and increasing fuel prices, Egyptians’ concerns are rising about how they will cope with the moves that will inevitably lead to sharp price increases across the board …;

How to Make Union Meetings Interesting and Useful, on Labor Notes.org, by Mike Parker and Martha Gruelle, Nov 04, 2016;

Historic UN Vote on Nuclear Ban Treaty, on Ceasefire.ca, Oct 28, 2016;

Europe isn’t just about trade. It’s about humanity too, on The Guardian, by Zoe Williams, Oct 24, 20§6;

Interesting Website: Exploring Nature.org, 5,000 pages of science content, diagrams, activities, investigations, tests, worksheets & NGSS – all printable;

… and this:

• Faded – Alan Walker, 3.32 min, uploaded by Alan Walker, Dec 3, 2015 … more in autoplay.